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Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Thiel College: The Death Penalty

The Death Penalty-Comment Project 3The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that a method of execution violated the Eighth Amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment. Which method of execution--hanging, electrocution, gas, firing squad, lethal injection--do you find most humane? Explain you answer.

11 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Student No. 8

When carried out correctly, the firing squad is the most humane method of execution. The other methods of execution draw the death over a longer period of time as compared to a properly performed execution by firing squad. Additionally, the other methods have more potential for suffering experienced by the individual being executed. For example, an execution by electrocution is far from humane. Individuals have been reported to foam at the mouth, convulse, and writhe while in the chair. From a bystander's point of view, the method is painful, and takes a substantial amount of time as compared to the 15.4 seconds it takes for a heart to stop beating when executed by firing squad. An execution by lethal injection takes 8-10 minutes, but it is unknown whether or not the individual experiences pain. This method of execution has had situations where the execution has taken substantially longer than the estimated time. Realistically, this draws out the time that witnesses must watch the death of another. Similarly to the method of electrocution, individuals have also been reported to gurgle and writhe while being executed by lethal injection. Overall, the firing squad is significantly more humane than the other methods of execution. When performed correctly, it takes the least amount of time, and is considerably more cost efficient.

student #11I think the most humane method of execution is Gas, especially using Hypoxia.Hypoxia is a way of taking oxygen from the brain and important organs. Of course, we can not live without oxygen. There are many ways to cause hypoxia without pain.In Royal Netherlands Air Force Physiology Center, There are scientists who use hypoxia to bring human subjects to just before death.By lowering the oxygen concentration at high altitudes, they can make another form of hypoxia.In the experiment, the brains of oxygen-deficient subjects experienced drunken feelings, euphoria, and overconfidence.There was a mask in front of the subject, but the moody subject was not wearing a mask despite the lack of oxygen.We can use argon and nitrogen because we can not build a low pressure chamber for each execution site. Because argon and nitrogen are odorless and tasteless, people can not distinguish, and people can lose consciousness without feeling pain.It 's cheap, practical, and not likely to fail. Not only is there no pain, but it also leads to happy death. reference : BBC horizon "how to kill a human being"

A lot of the issue with determining what is and is not humane, as brought up in class is that when people die they can't explain what they felt. The quickest form of death penalty (when done properly) is the firing squad. Although the method is much more brutal than the others, I would argue that a quick death is much more humane than a slow drawn out death. Issues with the more commonly used lethal injection include varied methods from state to state - bullets work the same way regardless of the state.

Although there is much more potential for human variables in the firing squad method, which could impact the individuals within the firing squad who have to actually pull the trigger and aim. So while as this method may be a quicker death for the person facing death it could impact the lives of the executioners.

In terms of what would be most humane I believe that in most cases lethal injection would be the most humane. Since the injection is a concoction of 3 drugs that not only put the person to death, but also make it so they pretty much die in their "sleep" almost. In some cases though it does not work properly. If we could find a way that a firing squad could hit the target perfectly every time, leaving no pain in bleeding out or wait to die from the injury I believe that would become the most humane form of the death penalty.

With each method to carry out the death penalty there is going to be an issue at question. I think there is no best form of an execution because there is no way of knowing the physical or psychological pain one must go through. The firing squad makes the most sense to use because it is quick and efficient. The firing squad is made up of professionals so that there will be no mistake by missing an individual when carrying out the execution. They have background with the use of firearms and are initially the only people who are trained to kill. In the case of Wilkerson v. Utah, the firing squad missed and Wilkerson suffered and bled to death 27 minutes after being shot. In this case there was nothing to be done because he was going to die no matter what and died in a way that was inhumane.

The most humane form of the death penalty is the firing squad. This is because with one shot the inmate on death row will be killed instantly without any pain. With other methods there could be same pain to the inmate. The firing squad is the best method to put someone down the quickest and the least painless.

Student #1Truthfully all of these executions have there pros and cons and in reality may all seem inhumane. However, if there was one that I had to choose as the most humane it would have to be the firing squad if done right. That can be said for these forms of executions but it just seems as if the firing squad is the most humane. One reason being is a gunshot straight to the heart will kill inmate instantly resulting in no suffering or pain. The other methods have the inmate experiencing a significant amount of pain or at least more than what the firing squad will inflict.

Student #13 Many say that the lethal injection is the most humane form of executions for those on death roll. The lethal injection has largely replaced the electrocution chair due to the electrocution chair being inhumane and injection being more humane. But I personally believe that the fire squad firing execution would be the most quick and easiest way to end a persons life. The firing squad is accurate especially when having a sharp shooters perform the task. All it takes is one shot to the right areas to end a life, which would save the time of performing multiple injections and hoping all injections proper do their job. I also personally believe that electrocution, gas and hanging are extremely inhumane and should have ever been performed..

The most humane way to execute is the firing squad, it is quick, least expensive, easy and the person getting executed won't feel it. It takes one shot to the heart from trained snipers and that is why I think it is the most humane way. Although many people say lethal injection is, the lethal injection was something that was widely chosen. But, the most humane way is the firing squad because it will inflict the least amount of damage and pain.

In my opinion, the most human way to execute someone is by using the firing squad. When it comes to the other methods of execution there are loopholes available for the states to use politics to determine how they will carry out the execution. I believe that with the firing squad the ability to use the same exact ammo and type of weapon is possible. There will be less room for politics. When it comes down to it though, all ways of execution have their criticism, but I believe the firing squad is the fastest and most effective way for execution. Hanging produces too much pain and is in my opinion, unethical. Lethal injection is not done the same way across the states with the death penalty, leaving room for experimentation with the types of drugs, same thing with the gas chamber. The electric chair is much more gory and painful. At the end, the firing squad seems more humane.

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An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
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